


Pathways

by loki_in_the_tardis



Category: The Maze Runner Series - James Dashner
Genre: I Don't Even Know, M/M, One Shot Collection
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-09
Updated: 2015-10-23
Packaged: 2018-04-03 15:57:39
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,943
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4106635
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/loki_in_the_tardis/pseuds/loki_in_the_tardis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Collection of short Newtmas moments</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Flimsy

Flimsy

Forgetting isn’t the hardest part. At least, it isn’t to Newt.

The actual act of forgetting takes no effort at all. Instead of a burst of pain or anything others seem to assume, it’s more like he’s slowly falling asleep. So slowly he doesn’t even realize it. One moment the memories are there. The next, they aren’t. It’s easy. Simple. It’s stopped bothering him. The only thing he wants to forget is that he’s forgetting.

No, forgetting is easy. The hardest part is watching Tommy.

He sits in the chair beside Newt’s bed, talking about friends and family and those who miss him and their home and how their cat Maurice is doing and when he thinks Newt’s asleep he bends down and cries and it’s _NewtNewtcomebackremebermeNewt._

And he tries. God, he tries. Maybe not as hard as he did before, but he tries. Newt feels guilt every time he sees Tommy, feels it rise up from his chest and clog in his throat. But then he feels hate, hate at himself for forgetting. And then he starts to hate Tommy a little too, for wanting him to remember, for making him feel like he has to remember. But then the guilt comes again and the cycle continues.

He’s trying. Newt swears he is.

And it’s worth it. It’s worth seeing Tommy smile every time Newt can remember his name, even though he’s forgotten all of the others. Even when he forgets his own name for a while, he remembers Thomas’.

Newt’s accepted how flimsy his memory is. But Tommy hasn’t. And because he hasn’t, Newt tries to remember, and he pretends like he remembers the names of people who are supposed to be his friends, and he pretends that he can forget that he's forgetting, and he’s so good at pretending that he almost believes it himself.

Almost.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! They're be a lot more like this with actual Newtmas interaction I promise. Hope you liked it and watch for more? :D


	2. Royal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Crown Prince Thomas is absolutely smitten with the commoner Newt, but everyone believes he is in love with his close friend Princess Teresa, who takes it upon herself to sort him out.

_ Royal _

Prince Thomas was absolutely smitten. It was decided. There was no room for shame with all of the admiration that swelled within him.

He wasn’t being as _discreet_ as he could be, of course, but that minor detail seemed unimportant. Thomas would let the noblemen, his relatives, and whoever else wanted to assume anything about him do whatever they wanted. At least, that was the plan.

Yes, everyone knew that the Crown Prince was absolutely smitten with _someone_ in the castle. This was not the problem. No, the problem was that everyone assumed that the person Thomas was smitten with was the visiting Princess Teresa.

Admittedly, this conclusion that so many people seemed fond of was not exactly unbelievable. Thomas and Teresa had been playmates since childhood, and the distance between their two kingdoms hadn’t hindered their fierce friendship. Their strong friendship was often mistaken for romantic interest, and yes, ok, they had tried that, _once._ But they had been thirteen and Thomas had yet to realize the importance of self-evaluation. Once he had, they had quickly broken it off and remained friends. This was public knowledge.

Yet everyone seemed to forget. This apparently very real relationship between Teresa and Thomas had been fueled over the years by his father’s insistence on their future marriage which was totally not going to be a thing if Thomas has any say. And he likes to think he does.

Anyway, to the problem at hand. Everyone believed he was in love with Teresa when they were actually just super cool friends. And this is why he was currently on her bed trying to smother himself to death.

“I can’t understand you when you try to suffocate yourself, darling.” Teresa hummed, flipping a page in her book. She wiggled her toes in front of the space where Thomas presses his face deeper and deeper into the silver covers. “Not very princely of you, hm?” Another flip of a page.

Thomas huffed harshly and arched his back before making a dramatic upwards notion with his head. He swung his head towards Teresa and narrowed his eyes, keeping the painful looking arch of his back.

Teresa snorted. “Not princely at all.”

“That doesn’t matter!” Thomas whined. “Everyone believes that I’m in love with you! Do you understand how disastrous this is?” He let out a small whimper before breaking his arch and flopping back down on the bed.

Teresa watched for a moment as he curled into the fetal position, then snorted again and put down her book. “Yes, I’m aware Thomas.”

“Everyone in the palace! Everyone in the _kingdom_!”

“It’s no different than what they’ve been thinking for years! Why does it matter so much now?” Teresa sounded justifiably annoyed at this point.

Thomas sent her a withering glare. “Because I didn’t realize how much I needed him back then and _whyisthishappeningtomeeeeeeee_?” He fixed an absolutely heartbreaking gaze at an unflinching Teresa.

She furrowed her brow. “I’m sorry; who are we talking about again?”

Thomas looked as if he had been shot in the heart. “ _Newt._ ”

“Oh, yes.” Teresa picked her book back up after shooting him a disapproving look. “The one with the limp. I’m not being rude by saying this, Thomas, but he’s really not what I would expect from you.”

Thomas scowled. “I don’t see how that wasn’t rude.”

“It’s all with love, darling.”

The prince let out an undignified snort. “Oh, please. Do you really have the right to judge me? You, of all people?”

Teresa frowned. “What are you trying to say?”

“I’m _saying,_ ” Thomas let a slow grin grow on his face, “that I know all about your little nightly _escapades_ with Sir Minho.”

She sputtered so fiercely that her book flew up in the air and landed in the fruit bowl nearby. “How-what-I never-”

“Back to Newt!” Thomas interrupted. “Don’t you understand? Because everyone believes I’m in love with you, so does he! _Newt_! If I tell him that I love him he won’t believe me!”

Teresa had by then come back to her composed and slightly judgmental regular self. “Love is a bit too strong a word, Thomas. You don’t really know this boy, do you? You’re the _Crown Prince_ ,” She exaggerated the last two words as if he wasn’t aware of his own birthright. “He’s just a stable boy.”

“He is not _‘just a stable boy’_!” Thomas leaped from his fetal position. “Newt’s training to be a herb specialist under the Royal Medical Examiner! And I know more than enough- you should as well, seeing as he’s been living in the medical rooms of the palace for his entire life. We used to play with Newt and Minho, for God’s sake.”

Teresa stood as well, leaning in close to a slightly startled Thomas. “Well I apologize for being focused on my _responsibilities,_ Thomas! We are _royalty_! We have duties and obligations that people like Newt and Minho depend on for survival! We owe it to them to focus on what has been our obligation since birth, to keep them alive and happy.”

Thomas looked down, disliking the shame pooling in his stomach. He didn’t enjoy the idea of being ashamed in his love. “So…I should forget about him? Leave my feelings behind? I can’t _do_ that, Teresa.”

Princess Teresa looked at his face for a moment before sighing, her eyes softening. “Just…..oh Thomas.” She gathered him in her arms. “I’m so sorry I was so cruel. I’m just worried that this is stopping you from becoming who the people need you to be.” She leant back and held his face in her hands making him look into her eyes. “Who _Newt_ needs you to be. Just love him from afar for a while, Thomas.”

The Crown Prince nodded, giving a smile to his best friend even as his heart broke and his eyes stung.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO this is not as well as I had hoped but seriously I am trying to pretend I'm studying for finals while actually writing this chapter. No Newtmas interaction in this, but I'll probably add onto this plot line. And there's also next time!!!   
> Hope you liked this and rest assured that there's more to come! Thanks and see you next time :D


	3. Devotion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> No one else can see Newt. Thomas doesn't appreciate this for a long time. Dark!Newt

The young boy's form shuddered as the wind pushed against his small frame. He bit his lip as tears pricked his eyes. "Stop it...." He whimpered. "No crying..." He sniffled as his trembling grew more violent.

"Hey there." A voice hummed. The boy jumped in surprise, not having noticed anyone coming towards him. He looked up slowly, trying not to move his bruised body too much.

A stranger looked down at him, mouth fixed into a charming smile. The boy-more like a teenager-didn't seem cold at all, his clothes unrumpled by the wind, his sandy hair swept perfectly to one side. "You alright?" The young boy blinked at the strange accent he heard.

"Auntie Ava said not to talk to strangers." The boy said once he gathered his wits. Another shiver shook through him. The stranger made another humming sound, this one somehow sounding thoughtful and conflicted.

" _Well_ ," He said, another smile being directed at the child, "my name's Newt. Now we're not strangers anymore, right?" Newt crouched down in front of the boy. He watched as the child's face twisted into one of careful concentration. Newt waited patiently for him to finish his thought process and watched as a smile bloomed across his young face.

"Ok! I'm Thomas!" Thomas, in his eagerness to introduce himself, jostled his injured body. He cried out, falling forward into Newt's arms.

"Whoa there, Tommy! Bloody hell, what happened to you?" Newt exclaimed, examining Thomas' injuries. Various scrapes and bruises covered the boy's face, one especially nasty cut stretching from the bottom of his eye to his mouth. Thomas' eyes starting to burn again with tears when he remembered what happened.

"Some..." He snuffled in between his words, his sentences coming out watery and trembling, "Some boys...they, they beat me up.....c-cause I'm _weird_!" He burst into full, shaky sobs. Newt instantly gathered him into his arms, shushing him and running a hand through his hair calmly.

"Hey, _hey,_ we both know that's not true." Newt rocked the child in his arms back and forth. "You're not weird at all, Tommy."

"B-But, I don't have no M-Mommy a-and Gally s-said that made me w-w-weird and I probably made her go away and-"

"Gally sounds like a right arse, doesn't he?" Newt muttered. Tommy, despite himself, couldn't help but giggle at Newt's strange language. Newt smiled, suddenly standing with the boy still in his arms. "Let's get you bandaged up, hm?"

Thomas pouted. "I can walk!" He said, wanting to look big in front of this new and exciting person. He still slipped his hand into Newt's, ignoring the strange looks they got as they walked down the streets. He chattered excitedly to Newt, beaming at every response he got. It was perfect until a woman walked up to them, smiling calmly down at him.

"Hello, darling." She said in a low tone, reaching out and clasping Thomas' shoulders. He held on stubbornly to Newt's fingers, as he stared the woman down. "Can I help you find Mommy? Why are you walking all alone?" Thomas squirmed under her grip.

"I'm not alone. Newt's here." The _duh_ part of his sentence was respectfully cut off. The woman's tight smile morphed into a confused grin.

"Who's Newt, dearie?" She asked. Thomas rolled his eyes and tugged at Newt's hand, bringing the woman's attention to where the teen stood.

"Newt is _Newt_! He's right here!" He said, annoyance coloring his tone. "Let go now!" He grew agitated, fighting to get out of her hold. She let go once she noticed the attention they were getting.

"Darling, there is no one there. We should go find..."

The woman's eyes faded as Thomas looked up at Newt, confusion and hurt on his face. "Newt? Why can't she....." He didn't want to finish.

Newt sighed, getting down on one knee and grabbing Thomas' arms. Compared to the woman's, Newt's hold was gentle and comforting. Thomas felt tears stab at his eyes once again at the thought that it wasn't real. "Newt...." He whimpered.

"Tommy," Newt said. He paused, then leaned in while smiling. The scent of honey and green tea-the type his aunt liked-overwhelmed him.  "I'll see you later." Suddenly there were hands tugging Thomas away, drawing him farther and farther apart from Newt.

Thomas let his tears fall as Newt's image grew more faint with each pull.

* * *

Later was six years later.

Thomas was twelve when he next saw Newt. Well, he didn't really see him totally. Just a glimpse of sandy blonde hair before a blow to his eye caused stars to dance across his vision.

"What's wrong? Don't want to fight back, Thomas? Maybe your _Newt_ will come save you?" Gally laughed mockingly, his cronies joining him. Thomas' stomach twisted in anger before looking over Gally's shoulder. He smirked through the blood and chipped teeth.

"Yeah," He said, "Maybe he will." Gally barked out another laugh and joked with his boys.

The scent of honey and green tea took over Thomas' senses as Newt appeared beside him. He stroked Thomas' hair, staring into his eyes. "Do you want me to stop this?" The accent was the final push Thomas needed to believe this was real. Newt was _there._ He was as real as Thomas needed him to be.

"Yes."

What happened next was a bit of a blur. One moment Gally was ready to throw another punch, the next his tormentor was flying through the air. Thomas shakily stood, staring at the figure that stood with his back to him. " _Newt_." He breathed.

Gally scrambled frantically backwards, eyes darting around nervously. "W-What's going on?" His voice shook. The older boy looked anxiously over at Thomas. "H-Hey, what's-" He was cut off again when his head flung to the side, a bruise appearing on his cheek. More and more injuries appeared as Gally's body jerked. His eyes flew frantically in every direction, trying to find the source of his torment. He called for his boys, but they had run off long ago. A few more blows and the light in his eyes dulled.

"Newt." Thomas called, seeing his bully's body still being pummeled even as his body gave up. "NEWT! Stop!" He yelled.

Newt looked up. He stared at Thomas. Dots of blood stained his clothes. He smiled. "This is what you wanted, Tommy."

"Not this." Thomas shook his head. "You're killing him."

"He won't be able to hurt you, Tommy. I could end it." The smile almost convinced Thomas to just let Newt continue. He shook his head. The smile twitched. "I'm protecting you, Tommy."

"Please, Newt." He pleaded. "Not like this. I don't want this. I never thought you could be this..." Newt frowned.

"I see." Newt sighed, closing his eyes. Thomas couldn't shake the guilt he felt at Newt's obvious disappointment. "It is too soon after all. I'll come back when you're ready."

Thomas felt a knot in his throat. He fought against it to say his next few words. "Don't."

Newt paused. "What?"

"Don't come back. Not like this."

Newt scowled. It was such a difference from his smile that Thomas felt fear shock his body into freezing. "I'll pass this off as this being panic, Tommy, and you being too young. I'll see you when the time is right." And he disappeared.

Thomas resisted the urge to curl into a ball and sob his eyes out. He instead stumbled over to Gally and screamed for help.

* * *

The next time was when he was sixteen and heartbroken. He didn't have to look behind him when the bed dipped to know who it was.

"I told you not to come back." He said, his voice husky. He felt fingers run through his hair. He hated how his body relaxed and his mind eased. "Why did you come?"

"You called me."

"I didn't."

"You did." Newt insisted. "You may not know that you did. But I heard you call. You're hurt."

Thomas tensed, then sighed and relaxed again. "Teresa....my girlfriend. She broke up with me."

Newt hummed. "You don't need her."

Thomas scoffed. "That's what everyone keeps saying. It still hurt."

"Forget the hurt. You don't need her. You don't need anyone. Only me." The last words were whispered in his ear. Thomas felt shivers down his spine.

"Newt....I-"

"You're still not ready." Newt cut him off. "But I'll always be here," He carefully rolled Thomas over to face him. "Waiting."

"You scare me." Thomas whispered.

"I'll always protect you, Tommy."

He had felt so cold and empty before, but warmth spread through him when Newt kissed him.

* * *

He was nineteen. The alley barely had any lightening. Rain beat down on them. Thomas watched as the figure approached him. "I don't have any money." He said. His voice held no emotion as fingers caressed his neck. A flash of lightening caused the knife to glint as his attacker drew closer and closer.

"That's what they all say." A greedy smile. Breath moved the hairs on his neck as arms encircled his waist.

"Do you want me to stop this, Tommy?" Newt whispered. "Are you ready?"

Thomas leaned back. " _Yes."_

Newt smiled.

* * *

 

[my tumblr](http://maebirduniverse.tumblr.com/)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What the heck did I just write.  
> Seriously what was that?  
> Sorry for anyone who actually wanted to read more that I haven't updated in forever. School, life, blah blah blah. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this! Something different from the usual. Hope I didn't rush everything.  
> Also! I have a tumblr! Yeah I post Newtmas stuff amongst other fandoms (mostly TMR though I am Newtmas trash.) So I'm maebirduniverse! I put the link above this note cause I still can't work this freaking site haha.  
> Well I'll see you next time when I update!


	4. Heartstrings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Newt is the singer for a band and Thomas is a complete fangirl for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a quick something to post! Different from my last one. I hope you like band!Newt as much as creepy!Newt.   
> Also, Newt in a tanktop?!?! With messy hair!?! *sharp inhale*  
> Also, the majority of this was typed on my cell phone. I apologize in advance for mistakes.

 Last Embrace was coming to their shitty town of Oaken and Thomas was having a heart attack as a result.

How could he _not_?!? This was _Last Embrace,_ the band that played music sent from the gods, the band that ripped his heart out and then stitched it back together with every song. It was the band with _Newt_ in it.

This was more than enough reasons to have a heart attack, according to Thomas. Teresa didn't agree as much.

"Tom, this is a bit much." She gestured to his stricken state. He snapped out of it to glare defensively at her.

"It's not ' _a bit much'_ _,_ Teresa!" Thomas said mockingly. He began to pace back and forth through the small room. "It's Last Embrace! Here, in our shitty town, where the most interesting thing to happen in years was.....was...it was Chuck's cat video getting twenty likes on YouTube!" His voice turned frantic. "Oh God, I need tickets, oh God _why must I be poor now of all-"_

"Tom!" Teresa interrupted, a smug smirk on her face. Wordlessly, she reached into her pocket and brought out two tickets. She waved them in the air, the smirk turning into a wide grin.

"Teresa."

"Tom."

" _Teresa_."

" _Thomas."_ Her voice had gained a note of excitement.

"TERESA YOU GOT US TICKETS!!!" Thomas launched himself at her, hugging her tightly against his chest. He bounced them up and down, his throat momentarily choked up with emotion.

He was going to see Newt. His lungs constricted with the weight of his emotions.  "Thank you so much, Teresa..." He choked out. Teresa had never shared his immense and boundless admiration for Last Embrace, but she'd never made him feel foolish for it. She smiled once he released her. 

"You can pay me back by seducing your boy, alright?" She winked, lips curled into a teasing smirk. Thomas felt his face heat up. 

"T-That, that would....." An image of Newt came to mind, running his hands through Thomas' hair and leaning in to-

"GAH!" 

"Ooohh, you just thought of him, didn't you?"

"TERESA!" 

* * *

This was the day he would die. Thomas was certain of it. There was no question. He took another gust of his inhaler. Teresa sighed next to him. 

"Honestly, you didn't even need your inhaler for two years, and now you're using it like you just ran a marathon. Are your nerves really that bad?" She clicked her tongue. 

Thomas sent her a glare. "You never told me about a CD signing! I'm not prepared!"

Teresa shrugged. "It was a surprise." She said with no remorse. "And why do you need to be 'prepared'? All you need is the CD."

"I look terrible!" He was pretty close to whining, he knew. "I didn't expect to meet him face to face! What do I even say?"

"Don't worry. You'll word vomit something out." She seemed distracted, looking over his shoulder. 

"I-"

She smirked. "Here we go!"

"Wait, wha-GAH!" She shoved Thomas forward, causing him to bump into the table and knock down a stack of CDs. "TERESA!"

"You alright there?"

Oh God. 

He slowly turned, tremors wracking his body as he faced Newt. In the flesh. Looking incredibly sexy, with ruffled hair and a white tank top oh God were those muscles even real-

"Hello?"

"Arms!" Thomas blurted out. Then he felt the overwhelming desire to have the ability to kick himself in the face. "I-I mean....hi."

Newt smiled. Thomas' heart skipped several beats. "Hey there." That accent. JESUS. "You ok?" 

"Uh, yeah, I just-"

"I know you, don't I?" Newt interrupted. He looked pensive for a moment, then nudged the person in the seat next to him. "Hey, Minho, this is the guy, yeah?"

Thomas had no idea what was happening, but as long as he could keep staring at Newt's mouth, he didn't care. 

Minho turned around, took a look at Thomas, then grinned. "Yeah, that's the shank alright." Newt nodded, then turned a bright smile at Thomas. 

"I thought so." He nodded sagely. "You were the guy who helped that girl out at the last vid session, right? Who couldn't speak English?"

Now he knew. On the last live web interview Last Embrace did a few months ago, some girl who wanted to ask a question didn't know how to articulate it in English. Thomas had helped translate from Spanish to English. He had no idea that the band noticed, though. Thomas felt his cheeks color. "Yeah, that was me. Uh, Thomas."

Newt looked surprised. "Thomas?"

Panic set in. Had he done something wrong? Did his name bother Newt? He would get a name change, he would run to the courthouse and demand a name change if it would make Newt smile again like before. "Is your name Thomas Greene?"

What was happening here? "Yeah." Thomas said lamely. 

Newt gave a sheepish smile that made him look-dare he say it-adorable. "You probably don't remember me-I was an anti social nerd back then-but we went to highschool together."

What. 

"What." Thomas said without thinking, not realizing until it was too late how rude he might have sounded. Newt didn't seem to mind though. 

"Yeah, but only freshman year. I moved back to the UK after first year. You were pretty popular. I actually," Newt blushed-actually _blushed-_  and ran a hand through his hair. "Bloody hell, can't believe I'm saying this....I actually had a bit of a crush on you."

Thomas felt like he'd been shot in the stomach. "Y-you......me...?" 

Newt gave an embarrassed laugh. "Yeah, but you didn't know I existed. Not that I blame you or anything! I actually wrote a song about it. It's on the album." He took a CD and flipped it to the back, scribbling on it and circling something on the back before handing it to Thomas. "We'll talk about it later though, if that's alright with you Tommy?" He gave a wink that melted Thomas' insides. 

"Talk a-about-" Thomas was pushed aside before he could stammer out a reply, an eager fan screaming in front of Newt now. Teresa met him as he stumbled aside. 

"Well? What happened?" She snatched the CD out of his hand. Her squeal brought Thomas to his senses. 

"What?!"

"He gave you his number!" 

"WHAT!?!?" He snatched it back from her. Sure enough, a series of digits was scribbled beside a circled song, with a message next to it. 

_I'd love it if you wouldn't share this number with anyone, but call me while I'm in town, alright Tommy?_

Thomas was certain his heart stopped beating. When it started back up, he stumbled out the press room in a daze. 

But not before entering the number in his phone. 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you liked it. Some will be short like this, some will be longer. I'll try to make the next one longer. Thanks for reading and see you next time :D


End file.
